Rays' Snell ties AL record with 7 straight Ks to start game

SEATTLE (AP) — Tampa Bay lefty Blake Snell tied the American League record with seven consecutive strikeouts to start a game against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.

Snell matched the mark set by Joe Cowley of the White Sox on May 28, 1986, and also reached by Carlos Rodon for the White Sox on Sept. 30, 2016.

The major league record is eight straight strikeouts to start a game, set by Jim Deshaies for Houston in 1986 and matched by Jacob deGrom of the Mets in 2014. Snell also tied a club record for most consecutive strikeouts at any point during a game.

Snell struck out the side in the first two innings on swinging strikes, and tied the record with a called strike three on Guillermo Heridia to open the third.

Denard Span, the Mariners' eighth batter, worked the count full before grounding out to second to end Snell's strikeout streak. Snell struck out Mike Zunino to end the third inning for his eighth strikeout of the game.

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